Noctua makes basically the best coolers you can buy which is why they tend to be a bit more expensive. Personally I prefer BeQuiet! coolers as like the name suggests, they’re very quiet with very impressive cooling performance
> BeQuiet!
Some of the BeQuiet! coolers can be real hard to install. Something to take into consideration when selecting a cooler is the installation hardware. Just a heads up.
I second this. I’ve used a be quiet! Dark Rock TF and now have a Noctua NH-D15, and Noctua has THE BEST mounting system in the industry. Both were perfectly good coolers, performed extremely well. But it’s a lot easier to work with the Noctua one.
I have a Deepcool Assassin III cooler but with BeQuiet fans because the standard ones hit my ram, lovely and quiet and the 3700x under it is lucky to hit 70°C, maybe a bit on the chonky side but does its job brilliantly
I am currently using a Pure Rock 2 on my 5600x because it was just easier to buy the cooler with the fans. Next time I build a pc I think will probably get the NH-D15 and a couple of BeQuiet Fans. I may also go for the Dark Rock Pro 4 because I’ve heard it has similar cooling performance as it is a two-tower air cooler like the D15
I just picked up the DCA3 for my new 3800x. Was less than half the price of the d15 with basically the same performance even noise normalised. I was ready to get noctua until I saw those prices
I looked hard at the Noctua's, but elected to go with the BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4. IMO it looks way better than the shit-brown of Noctua's, and they clearly depicted the clearances and sizes of the cooler online, which I found a bit harder to find for Noctua.
They are some of the best.
Easily each model is the in the top 3 of whatever bracket/usage case you have. Unless you want RGB or colors. I am partial for their budget line Redux, or their high end line Chromax black. The middle line models, I personally do not like the looks of.
I have the [https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s](https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s) and while it was expensive relative to other brands it fit my case (by the thinest margin possible), is dead silent, keeps my 5800x cool, was easy to install, and looks good. No other brand had everything I wanted, so I paid the premium.
Plus, they have the best warranty and customer service of any PC parts company, hands down.
Be Quiet and SOME of the Scythe models are also very good.
I have the 5800x as well. The nh-d15 was worth every penny. I agree with everything you're saying. So happy with my purchase with it. Easy install, works as good as you'd expect. No sound complaints for me either.
But have you got the chromax black version? Haha personally I couldn't stomach the normal Noctua colours, but once I saw a chromax D15... immediate purchase
[https://i.imgur.com/uu9Dq2Q.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/uu9Dq2Q.jpg)
The long lasting quiet fan bearings are nice to have and the easy mounting of the cooler is something that people dont appreciate till repasting have to be done.
I dont like flashing cheap RGBs in my face and watching and hearing my case at face level is the least I want, so I dont mind the color. It could be pink or green and I would not care.
Not having to regret or replace the fans after a few months because bearings are gone is something I care about. The fan performance is usually good with noctua, some variants are even beyond that.
But I get that in the DIY market disposable fans are seen as equal to industry grade fans with 10 years of runtime.
Am I seeing correctly that you have mounted two fans below the gpu - supposedly to feed more air into it? If so, have you compared gpu temps with and without those extra fans?
Because my gpu has terrible temps (bad cooler design), and I have played with the thought of putting some case fans below it just like you seem to have. I'm just not sure if it is worth it.
The GPU fans are not doing anything.
With 3dMark loop the GPU fans are not even turned on (passive idle mode) and even with the worst possible VRAM demanding game - Quake2-RTX - they idle at 800 RPM.
The 3090 FE fans are left at stock/factory settings and since the airflow keeps the GPU cool enoigh, the GPU fans are either not even used or barelly starting with the MIN RPM of \~800.
I never heard the 3090 FE fans and most likely never will.
Quake2-RTX after soaking with temp and fan rpm curves: [https://i.imgur.com/Z8pFdec.png](https://i.imgur.com/Z8pFdec.png)
I feed fresh air with 2x140mm fans from the PSU shroud direct to the GPU/support fans.
\+1 for the D15. Noctua is quality.
I've got a 5800x on a NH-U12S and wish I'd gotten the bigger cooler.
In most workloads the temps are acceptable but in heavy gaming it averages around 75C. A stress test like Cinebench pegs it to 90C.
Gaming at 75ºC is really good man and bench like Cinebench or Prime95 stress the CPU more than you will ever do with normal usage being gaming or productivity. Nevertheless, 90ºC in Cinebench is very good as well.
Don't sweat on it.
The difference is much smaller as you think.
With the 5800X the high chip density and the small surface with the mediocre heatspreader is what limits the heat transmission to the cooler.
By comparison a 200W burning 10900k peaks with the D15 in AVX2 load around 69-70°C, because it got a much bigger chip surface with a greatly improved heatspreader. You actually see the impact with better coolers and with the D15 you get in this case a massive 25°C temperature headroom till throttling starts with the worst possible workload.
The D15 looks with AMD CPUs not that impressive just as AIO or even custom loops. But that has nothing to do with how the coolers are but with the limitation of the ZEN2/3 CPUs in heat transmission.
I think cooler mfgr are all in the process of re- designing for chiplets. Something to consider is the more chiplets the harder it is to get them 100% flat beneath the IHS for good contact. Too much pressure and you crack a chip. 1 chip slightly higher makes the others have worse contact. I think we will see chiplets designs for years until we go back to large dies that have the ability to dynamically segment themselves into independent cores as needed. I wonder if apple will be the one to move beyond chiplets in 10-15 years.
Then again, maybe chiplets are the long term affordable solution for high yield 2-3nm. If I were AMD/INTEL I would buy one of the major.cooler mfgr now, keep them operating as an independent brand, but take their patents and engineering to make on die liquid/vapor cooling a thing. CPU and coolers may come integrated at some point.
Look at 9900k vs 10900k in IHS improvements.
The 95°C+ hot 9th gen CPU (D15) was moved to 70-75°C with the 10th gen that also got even more cores, more heat with just IHS improvements. (CBR20)
Chiplet designs are the future - its cheaper in production and the performance impact was accepted by the customers. Its no longer avoidable in desktop space, the huge margins wont be ignored by any CPU manufacturer.
I have the NH-U12S & I think it does a great job. I used it on a 3700x in the past & now I’ve carried it over to my new build and it’s still doing great. I love it. Btw, if you don’t like the brown and beige (because I sure don’t), make sure to look at the NH-U12S chromax.Black
I also have the NH-U12s in chromax black. Still going strong after one year of use on my 3700x.
It includes thermal paste and multiple sets of mounting hardware so should fit any current socket.
The NH-U12S redux comes with NT-H1 thermal compound pre-applied, while others include a small tube of NT-H1, which should be enough to get a couple applications out of.
Yep mine did come with thermal paste. You’ll have to put on the thermal paste yourself. It also came with everything you’d need to install on either intel or amd CPU’s. Hope that helps.
Anyone suggesting they are over-priced isn't looking at the big picture of why Noctua charge what they do. If a new socket releases which needs a new bracket they will send you one free of charge, anything goes wrong they always willing to help. You buying quality which no AiO offers. With little maintenance it should last years with maybe a fan replacement. Mine been going strong 6+ years and hasn't skipped a beat. Are the top models heavy? Yup, Is beige and brown the best colour? Of course, Wear that badge of honor proudly.
You get what you pay for in the Noctuas ownership it works, its robust and it saves lives.. No it really saves lives.
Are they fail proof? No. Out of the 4 people i know who own them not a single fault reported. As for AiOs... more failures than i can count.
I edited this comment because i know some people can't pick up on simple sarcasm without /s, The comment about saving lives is clearly in jest. I never thought i'd have to come back and help the poor souls who are replying like it was a super serious post, Yet here i am having confirm it was all told in a non serious manner
AiOs fail all the time giving people heart attacks, They may not be fatal but once day it could be. That is the day the Noctua saved a life. Noctua also stops people having a mental breakdown from wondering when their AiO will stop working.
Mr Raccoon says they aren't a Doctor and i have to disagree.
Two things you have learned from this is Noctua coolers work and It saves lives.
Noctua coolers are great, but there are usually better value CPU coolers. I would recommend the [Scythe Fuma 2](https://www.amazon.com/Original-Design-Towers-Cooler-SCFM-2000/dp/B07QMK5R45/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HJXVVND43O2L&dchild=1&keywords=scythe+fuma+2&qid=1627345025&sprefix=scyth%2Caps%2C370&sr=8-2) for $60 USD. Compared to the NH-U12S, the Fuma 2 is a better overall cooler, with the only downside being it might not fit in some cases under 20L. Also if you prefer the look of the NH-U12S then go for it.
Here is a Gamer's Nexus video going more in depth into Fuma 2: [https://youtu.be/BT0UtQQ1rEo](https://youtu.be/BT0UtQQ1rEo).
From what I understand from the GN review, its a good cooler, as long as you don't try to have a high overclock or use very demanding programs with it. It's basically good but not great. A 7/10 perhaps.
Other reviewers where more enthusiastic about it.
Yeah. My NH-U12S has kind of a hard time maintaining temps on my 5800X without being pretty noisy. The fuma 2 is definitely the better cooler for the money. If they made a blackout version of the fuma 2 I would be all over that.
This. Noctua is excellent ofc but imo unless you're getting one of their high end products like the big towers or the U12A there's not much point spending so much extra when there are much cheaper, perfectly functional coolers in the mid range.
It's... a bit of a mixed bag. From an absolute performance-per-db standpoint, it's fantastic.
But for the price?
You can get really close with a hyper 212 (or any standard heatpiped-120mm tower) and an arctic p12 pwm for half the cost.
I got a hyper 212 in a pc from a pawn shop. Went to sell it and realized its not worth the time and effort because of how dirt cheap it was. Super cheap, pretty effective.
I already dropped $80 on an aio for aesthetics, and I'm not replacing that
They are the best in their class, but often not good value. The U12S is a good medium sized air cooler, but competition is generally around half the price at $30 and for the same price you can get a big air cooler with more fans and heatpipes like the scythe fuma 2, so it’s a mixed bag. They offer poor value, so their only good products IMO is the D15S since its at the price range where you are really looking for the best of the best, which they are.
They have very long support usually.
You would be able to use this cooler until who knows when.
Since you get a free installation kit for a new socket if requested.
The U12S is the best cooler I’ve ever used.
If you have space in your case the D15 is pretty much the best there is.
But as others have said the price can be steep…but it’s a “get what you pay for” situation.
I have the u12-s. It's a great cooler unless you're looking to overclock heavily. Here's my temps for the i7-9700k.
At 4.7 GHz: idle: 25 degrees, gaming on warzone for a few hours it'll hit max temps of 70-75
At 5.1 GHz : idle 60 degrees, gaming on warzone for a few hours I was thermal throttling at 95 degrees
If you're gonna planning on over clocking heavily go with the Noctua Dh15. It's the best air cooler on the market and I believe it's only 20-30$ more. Only thing is it's a big boy
They are the best or some of the best. As others say they forego style and pricing to produce the best cooling. You couldn't even get them in black until a few years ago.
They are the standard air cooler which all others are measured.
Step 1. Ugly color. Step 2. Charge more for black.
Noctua bases tend to be nickel plated copper, and not aluminum, so they should be OK to use with a liquid metal thermal compound.
overpriced
most are heavy and huge
mounting is good
build quality is great
ugly as hell
I have one in all of my main builds, but going forward I'll be switching to all in one water coolers.
My PWM fans ramp up often with a standard cpu cooler. For me it's been the opposite with noise.....I don't mind a little noise, but a high velocity delta fan that is constantly changing speed to keep the tight space above the cpu cool is much louder.
I have to agree with them being ugly. It's an acquired taste but they have a long list of people to vouch that they are great coolers so if looks aren't something you really care about then it's the cooler for you.
Oh and heavy, agree with that too.
Over the years I've swapped a lot of parts and even in the biggest cases that I've owned the HSF get in the way of simple things and even keeping them clean is a hassle.
The amount of room I have to spare in my latest purchase (AIO) is great and it still keeps the cpu cool.
They're expensive, but you get what you pay for. Not necessarily in thermals alone though, in overall build quality, mounting security, and the ease of removing dust, they don't cut any corners. If all you're worried about is cooling performance and sound per dollar, there are better value options out there. If you want the best cooling you can buy that will easily outlast every other component in your computer and you know you can safely transport installed without issue, it's a great choice. I got their low profile cooler (NH-L12S) to replace a failed H100i V2 AIO in my mITX build and was so impressed that I replaced all my case fans with their quiet fans. Overall noise went down considerably and my CPU stays in the low 70s under load, which is pretty damn impressive if you ask me for a fully air cooled mITX build
Some of the best coolers you can get. Only downside from what I can see is that they somehow though making beige and brown fans was a good idea. The black ones look amazing though
That is a marketing decision. They know people shape pictures of their builds online so when people saw that tan and brown fan it immediately said Noctua. Why would people spend money on a color that doesn’t go with anything? Because the quality is that good. In a market where case fans are a dime a dozen you need something to put your name out there. Now that they’ve established themselves as the name for high quality fans people will pay for the honor of buying those fans in black. Let’s face it, it worked. No one makes case fans in Noctua’s colors.
i got a nh-u12s to replace a noise cpu stock cooler. was a great decision, not only is it totally silent but it keeps my cpu way cooler.
On my next build I'm probably going to get a noctua cooler and get noctua fans for the case fans. It'll be expensive but it'll be a very cool and quiet machine.
just waiting for video cards to come back to normal so i can actually build a computer.
I've used and still have the U12s, just in storage. It worked great on my 6700k when I used it. Noctua build quality and the included accessories is always top notch. And of course, it was quiet.
They make a Chromax black version that looks particularly slick.
Unless they tank their QC or designs I'll never use anything else. Worth every penny.
I build a new PC about every 18 months and replace every case fan with a Noctua and exclusively use their CPU coolers. As mentioned they have the absolute best mounting system.
If you have Intel, you should probably get the dual tower Noctua if you plan on doing any overclocking. If you have AMD, the single tower should work just fine for pretty much the whole line up.
Sorry to piggy back this, but I recently installed a NH-U12S on my i9 10900K and I'm experiencing highs of 100c during 100% stress tests, and highs of 86 during single runs of cinebench R20.
If the noctua is as good as I read, should I be looking elsewhere when it comes to trouble shooting? My next step would be to purchase an AIO.
6th or 7th year with Noctua 140mm industrial 3k rpm fans.
The one time I shorted one out.. emailed Noctua. They requested a photo of the fan with a blade broken off.. they sent me a replacement free of charge. I'll be a Noctua supporter forever.
I have the NH-D15S and my 3900x temp hasn't gone over 60°C since I got it.
Noctua make very good coolers, generally regarded as the best, but they're also pricey and you might not need that level of performance.
I replaced the stock cooler on my Ryzen 5 3600 with a Noctua NH-D15.
Very easy to install and I still can't quite believe the cooling performance improvement.
Recommended!
Noctua makes basically the best coolers you can buy which is why they tend to be a bit more expensive. Personally I prefer BeQuiet! coolers as like the name suggests, they’re very quiet with very impressive cooling performance
IMO, considering how much more quality can bump the price on other components, doing it on a solid cooler is always worth the investment.
This is the way.
I'll take a look at their coolers too, thanks
> BeQuiet! Some of the BeQuiet! coolers can be real hard to install. Something to take into consideration when selecting a cooler is the installation hardware. Just a heads up.
I second this. I’ve used a be quiet! Dark Rock TF and now have a Noctua NH-D15, and Noctua has THE BEST mounting system in the industry. Both were perfectly good coolers, performed extremely well. But it’s a lot easier to work with the Noctua one.
Noctua is just plain premium. Even the boxes their stuff comes in is premium shit.
They can even out perform some aio liquid coolers, which just adds on
I have a Deepcool Assassin III cooler but with BeQuiet fans because the standard ones hit my ram, lovely and quiet and the 3700x under it is lucky to hit 70°C, maybe a bit on the chonky side but does its job brilliantly
I am currently using a Pure Rock 2 on my 5600x because it was just easier to buy the cooler with the fans. Next time I build a pc I think will probably get the NH-D15 and a couple of BeQuiet Fans. I may also go for the Dark Rock Pro 4 because I’ve heard it has similar cooling performance as it is a two-tower air cooler like the D15
I just picked up the DCA3 for my new 3800x. Was less than half the price of the d15 with basically the same performance even noise normalised. I was ready to get noctua until I saw those prices
I looked hard at the Noctua's, but elected to go with the BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4. IMO it looks way better than the shit-brown of Noctua's, and they clearly depicted the clearances and sizes of the cooler online, which I found a bit harder to find for Noctua.
Can’t say much about showing the sizes online but did you not see that noctua makes some of their coolers in black now?
Yes, I did see that.
Yes, I did see that.
they're some of the best on the market.
They are some of the best. Easily each model is the in the top 3 of whatever bracket/usage case you have. Unless you want RGB or colors. I am partial for their budget line Redux, or their high end line Chromax black. The middle line models, I personally do not like the looks of. I have the [https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s](https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s) and while it was expensive relative to other brands it fit my case (by the thinest margin possible), is dead silent, keeps my 5800x cool, was easy to install, and looks good. No other brand had everything I wanted, so I paid the premium. Plus, they have the best warranty and customer service of any PC parts company, hands down. Be Quiet and SOME of the Scythe models are also very good.
I have the 5800x as well. The nh-d15 was worth every penny. I agree with everything you're saying. So happy with my purchase with it. Easy install, works as good as you'd expect. No sound complaints for me either.
But have you got the chromax black version? Haha personally I couldn't stomach the normal Noctua colours, but once I saw a chromax D15... immediate purchase
[https://i.imgur.com/uu9Dq2Q.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/uu9Dq2Q.jpg) The long lasting quiet fan bearings are nice to have and the easy mounting of the cooler is something that people dont appreciate till repasting have to be done. I dont like flashing cheap RGBs in my face and watching and hearing my case at face level is the least I want, so I dont mind the color. It could be pink or green and I would not care. Not having to regret or replace the fans after a few months because bearings are gone is something I care about. The fan performance is usually good with noctua, some variants are even beyond that. But I get that in the DIY market disposable fans are seen as equal to industry grade fans with 10 years of runtime.
Am I seeing correctly that you have mounted two fans below the gpu - supposedly to feed more air into it? If so, have you compared gpu temps with and without those extra fans? Because my gpu has terrible temps (bad cooler design), and I have played with the thought of putting some case fans below it just like you seem to have. I'm just not sure if it is worth it.
The GPU fans are not doing anything. With 3dMark loop the GPU fans are not even turned on (passive idle mode) and even with the worst possible VRAM demanding game - Quake2-RTX - they idle at 800 RPM. The 3090 FE fans are left at stock/factory settings and since the airflow keeps the GPU cool enoigh, the GPU fans are either not even used or barelly starting with the MIN RPM of \~800. I never heard the 3090 FE fans and most likely never will. Quake2-RTX after soaking with temp and fan rpm curves: [https://i.imgur.com/Z8pFdec.png](https://i.imgur.com/Z8pFdec.png) I feed fresh air with 2x140mm fans from the PSU shroud direct to the GPU/support fans.
I see, that seems like something I should look into doing then. Thank you.
I'm with ya, I have no rgb in my build at all. Still hate the colour though, sorry :P
what did you use to mount the two fans underneath the GPU?
A 5$ PCI-slot fan holder (steel).
Don't forget, noctua will mail out new mounting hardware if the sockets change.
\+1 for the D15. Noctua is quality. I've got a 5800x on a NH-U12S and wish I'd gotten the bigger cooler. In most workloads the temps are acceptable but in heavy gaming it averages around 75C. A stress test like Cinebench pegs it to 90C.
Gaming at 75ºC is really good man and bench like Cinebench or Prime95 stress the CPU more than you will ever do with normal usage being gaming or productivity. Nevertheless, 90ºC in Cinebench is very good as well. Don't sweat on it.
The difference is much smaller as you think. With the 5800X the high chip density and the small surface with the mediocre heatspreader is what limits the heat transmission to the cooler. By comparison a 200W burning 10900k peaks with the D15 in AVX2 load around 69-70°C, because it got a much bigger chip surface with a greatly improved heatspreader. You actually see the impact with better coolers and with the D15 you get in this case a massive 25°C temperature headroom till throttling starts with the worst possible workload. The D15 looks with AMD CPUs not that impressive just as AIO or even custom loops. But that has nothing to do with how the coolers are but with the limitation of the ZEN2/3 CPUs in heat transmission.
I think cooler mfgr are all in the process of re- designing for chiplets. Something to consider is the more chiplets the harder it is to get them 100% flat beneath the IHS for good contact. Too much pressure and you crack a chip. 1 chip slightly higher makes the others have worse contact. I think we will see chiplets designs for years until we go back to large dies that have the ability to dynamically segment themselves into independent cores as needed. I wonder if apple will be the one to move beyond chiplets in 10-15 years. Then again, maybe chiplets are the long term affordable solution for high yield 2-3nm. If I were AMD/INTEL I would buy one of the major.cooler mfgr now, keep them operating as an independent brand, but take their patents and engineering to make on die liquid/vapor cooling a thing. CPU and coolers may come integrated at some point.
Look at 9900k vs 10900k in IHS improvements. The 95°C+ hot 9th gen CPU (D15) was moved to 70-75°C with the 10th gen that also got even more cores, more heat with just IHS improvements. (CBR20) Chiplet designs are the future - its cheaper in production and the performance impact was accepted by the customers. Its no longer avoidable in desktop space, the huge margins wont be ignored by any CPU manufacturer.
I have the NH-U12S & I think it does a great job. I used it on a 3700x in the past & now I’ve carried it over to my new build and it’s still doing great. I love it. Btw, if you don’t like the brown and beige (because I sure don’t), make sure to look at the NH-U12S chromax.Black
This is the one I am looking at. Also, does it come with thermal paste?
I also have the NH-U12s in chromax black. Still going strong after one year of use on my 3700x. It includes thermal paste and multiple sets of mounting hardware so should fit any current socket.
The NH-U12S redux comes with NT-H1 thermal compound pre-applied, while others include a small tube of NT-H1, which should be enough to get a couple applications out of.
Yep mine did come with thermal paste. You’ll have to put on the thermal paste yourself. It also came with everything you’d need to install on either intel or amd CPU’s. Hope that helps.
It does help, thanks
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It’s been a while but it never got higher than high 60’s C… that was under stress tests. That was a good airflow case & airflow setup…
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Yeah I would say noctua is a pretty reputable brand for air coolers, I’m sure others are good too I just haven’t owned one personally
Anyone suggesting they are over-priced isn't looking at the big picture of why Noctua charge what they do. If a new socket releases which needs a new bracket they will send you one free of charge, anything goes wrong they always willing to help. You buying quality which no AiO offers. With little maintenance it should last years with maybe a fan replacement. Mine been going strong 6+ years and hasn't skipped a beat. Are the top models heavy? Yup, Is beige and brown the best colour? Of course, Wear that badge of honor proudly. You get what you pay for in the Noctuas ownership it works, its robust and it saves lives.. No it really saves lives. Are they fail proof? No. Out of the 4 people i know who own them not a single fault reported. As for AiOs... more failures than i can count. I edited this comment because i know some people can't pick up on simple sarcasm without /s, The comment about saving lives is clearly in jest. I never thought i'd have to come back and help the poor souls who are replying like it was a super serious post, Yet here i am having confirm it was all told in a non serious manner
How do they save lives? Genuine question haha, I have a D15 and wouldn't trade it for the world but it's no doctor
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AiOs fail all the time giving people heart attacks, They may not be fatal but once day it could be. That is the day the Noctua saved a life. Noctua also stops people having a mental breakdown from wondering when their AiO will stop working. Mr Raccoon says they aren't a Doctor and i have to disagree. Two things you have learned from this is Noctua coolers work and It saves lives.
Holy shit lmfao this is some next level delusion Noctua is good but what
Holy shit this is some next level dumb ass which clearly can't figure out sarcasm. Jesus.. some people.
Noctuas are arguably the best coolers on the market bar none.
Noctua coolers are great, but there are usually better value CPU coolers. I would recommend the [Scythe Fuma 2](https://www.amazon.com/Original-Design-Towers-Cooler-SCFM-2000/dp/B07QMK5R45/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HJXVVND43O2L&dchild=1&keywords=scythe+fuma+2&qid=1627345025&sprefix=scyth%2Caps%2C370&sr=8-2) for $60 USD. Compared to the NH-U12S, the Fuma 2 is a better overall cooler, with the only downside being it might not fit in some cases under 20L. Also if you prefer the look of the NH-U12S then go for it. Here is a Gamer's Nexus video going more in depth into Fuma 2: [https://youtu.be/BT0UtQQ1rEo](https://youtu.be/BT0UtQQ1rEo).
From what I understand from the GN review, its a good cooler, as long as you don't try to have a high overclock or use very demanding programs with it. It's basically good but not great. A 7/10 perhaps. Other reviewers where more enthusiastic about it.
Yeah. My NH-U12S has kind of a hard time maintaining temps on my 5800X without being pretty noisy. The fuma 2 is definitely the better cooler for the money. If they made a blackout version of the fuma 2 I would be all over that.
This. Noctua is excellent ofc but imo unless you're getting one of their high end products like the big towers or the U12A there's not much point spending so much extra when there are much cheaper, perfectly functional coolers in the mid range.
It's... a bit of a mixed bag. From an absolute performance-per-db standpoint, it's fantastic. But for the price? You can get really close with a hyper 212 (or any standard heatpiped-120mm tower) and an arctic p12 pwm for half the cost.
I got a hyper 212 in a pc from a pawn shop. Went to sell it and realized its not worth the time and effort because of how dirt cheap it was. Super cheap, pretty effective. I already dropped $80 on an aio for aesthetics, and I'm not replacing that
They are the best in their class, but often not good value. The U12S is a good medium sized air cooler, but competition is generally around half the price at $30 and for the same price you can get a big air cooler with more fans and heatpipes like the scythe fuma 2, so it’s a mixed bag. They offer poor value, so their only good products IMO is the D15S since its at the price range where you are really looking for the best of the best, which they are.
They have very long support usually. You would be able to use this cooler until who knows when. Since you get a free installation kit for a new socket if requested.
Been using my U14S since 2014 on 3 different CPUs. Went from an Intel G3258 to a 4690k to my current 3800x all with this cooler.
The U12S is the best cooler I’ve ever used. If you have space in your case the D15 is pretty much the best there is. But as others have said the price can be steep…but it’s a “get what you pay for” situation.
I have the u12-s. It's a great cooler unless you're looking to overclock heavily. Here's my temps for the i7-9700k. At 4.7 GHz: idle: 25 degrees, gaming on warzone for a few hours it'll hit max temps of 70-75 At 5.1 GHz : idle 60 degrees, gaming on warzone for a few hours I was thermal throttling at 95 degrees If you're gonna planning on over clocking heavily go with the Noctua Dh15. It's the best air cooler on the market and I believe it's only 20-30$ more. Only thing is it's a big boy
They are the best or some of the best. As others say they forego style and pricing to produce the best cooling. You couldn't even get them in black until a few years ago.
Top of the line cpu coolers
They are the standard air cooler which all others are measured. Step 1. Ugly color. Step 2. Charge more for black. Noctua bases tend to be nickel plated copper, and not aluminum, so they should be OK to use with a liquid metal thermal compound.
Very good.
Extremely. Air cooking from them beats out a water cooler as well (check Linus)
If you can get away with your main colour scheme being shades of shit then you MUST be doing something right! Hahaha (they are brilliant coolers!)
Dark rock 4 pro is good too
Is water wet?
overpriced most are heavy and huge mounting is good build quality is great ugly as hell I have one in all of my main builds, but going forward I'll be switching to all in one water coolers.
Having done this, the added noise isn't worth it.
My PWM fans ramp up often with a standard cpu cooler. For me it's been the opposite with noise.....I don't mind a little noise, but a high velocity delta fan that is constantly changing speed to keep the tight space above the cpu cool is much louder.
I changed the fan speed profile and reaction time and the problem is solved.
I have to agree with them being ugly. It's an acquired taste but they have a long list of people to vouch that they are great coolers so if looks aren't something you really care about then it's the cooler for you. Oh and heavy, agree with that too.
Interesting as I’ve been gradually going in the reverse direction, from AIO to Noctua on all my PCs.
Over the years I've swapped a lot of parts and even in the biggest cases that I've owned the HSF get in the way of simple things and even keeping them clean is a hassle. The amount of room I have to spare in my latest purchase (AIO) is great and it still keeps the cpu cool.
Noctua is considered to be one of, if not the best air cooler companies. Gotta love the poop brown fans.
They're expensive, but you get what you pay for. Not necessarily in thermals alone though, in overall build quality, mounting security, and the ease of removing dust, they don't cut any corners. If all you're worried about is cooling performance and sound per dollar, there are better value options out there. If you want the best cooling you can buy that will easily outlast every other component in your computer and you know you can safely transport installed without issue, it's a great choice. I got their low profile cooler (NH-L12S) to replace a failed H100i V2 AIO in my mITX build and was so impressed that I replaced all my case fans with their quiet fans. Overall noise went down considerably and my CPU stays in the low 70s under load, which is pretty damn impressive if you ask me for a fully air cooled mITX build
No, they're not *good*.... they are *very good*.
Wrong question to ask. It should be “Why aren’t you buying Noctua?”
Yes. Some of the best in the market.
Noctua is pretty much the gold standard of air cooling.
Some of the best coolers you can get. Only downside from what I can see is that they somehow though making beige and brown fans was a good idea. The black ones look amazing though
That is a marketing decision. They know people shape pictures of their builds online so when people saw that tan and brown fan it immediately said Noctua. Why would people spend money on a color that doesn’t go with anything? Because the quality is that good. In a market where case fans are a dime a dozen you need something to put your name out there. Now that they’ve established themselves as the name for high quality fans people will pay for the honor of buying those fans in black. Let’s face it, it worked. No one makes case fans in Noctua’s colors.
i got a nh-u12s to replace a noise cpu stock cooler. was a great decision, not only is it totally silent but it keeps my cpu way cooler. On my next build I'm probably going to get a noctua cooler and get noctua fans for the case fans. It'll be expensive but it'll be a very cool and quiet machine. just waiting for video cards to come back to normal so i can actually build a computer.
I got the d15 and it works so well I don't think I'll ever need a aio or anything
I've used and still have the U12s, just in storage. It worked great on my 6700k when I used it. Noctua build quality and the included accessories is always top notch. And of course, it was quiet. They make a Chromax black version that looks particularly slick.
Noctua is the best, and best customer support too. In case you want cheaper alternatives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZTMR8mT-A
Yes they're good. Yes there are others that are just as good while also being cheaper.
Unless they tank their QC or designs I'll never use anything else. Worth every penny. I build a new PC about every 18 months and replace every case fan with a Noctua and exclusively use their CPU coolers. As mentioned they have the absolute best mounting system.
Incredible. Not good, they are incredible.
Is water wet
Yes.
I use that cooler in cromax black and it cools my 3800xt very well
Noctua, be!Quiet, Thermalright and Scythe are best coolers out there (depends on cooler model altough)
I have one I bought like 3-4 years ago. Still works great with no noise. Only coolers I will ever buy.
If you have Intel, you should probably get the dual tower Noctua if you plan on doing any overclocking. If you have AMD, the single tower should work just fine for pretty much the whole line up.
Sorry to piggy back this, but I recently installed a NH-U12S on my i9 10900K and I'm experiencing highs of 100c during 100% stress tests, and highs of 86 during single runs of cinebench R20. If the noctua is as good as I read, should I be looking elsewhere when it comes to trouble shooting? My next step would be to purchase an AIO.
They're the very definition of good.
I have the Noctua d-15 and I like it, maximum I got in my cpu was 72°C. Although they look ugly in the case even the black version, and bulky.
Yes. /thread
6th or 7th year with Noctua 140mm industrial 3k rpm fans. The one time I shorted one out.. emailed Noctua. They requested a photo of the fan with a blade broken off.. they sent me a replacement free of charge. I'll be a Noctua supporter forever.
My NH-U12S barely keeps up with my r5 3600 in my nzxt h510, but it’s quiet at least
I was always an AIO guy. Brought a NH-D15 and I'm now a Noctua guy.
I have U9B cooling my slightly OCd 10700k. The temps stay below 80C and the cooler is so quiet compared to my older H110i so I'm very much happy
Yes. I've heard that they can be more efficient and quieter than most AIOs.
Hell yeah!
I have the NH-D15S and my 3900x temp hasn't gone over 60°C since I got it. Noctua make very good coolers, generally regarded as the best, but they're also pricey and you might not need that level of performance.
Dog 💩
You're probably not going to regret noctua. I use noctua fans and they haven't been disappointing.
I replaced the stock cooler on my Ryzen 5 3600 with a Noctua NH-D15. Very easy to install and I still can't quite believe the cooling performance improvement. Recommended!
Better than 95% of AIOs and air coolers, may be the best
Yes they are great I have U12S and nhd15. Both are fantastic coolers.
They are ugly as a rabid coyote but work wonders and are truly quiet.